USA (MNN ) — Human trafficking remains a $32 billion industry, exploiting over 2 million children each year and thousands more men and women. These statistics will never change if a new generation is not willing to do something about it.
Human trafficking is only one out of the wide spectrum of topics that will be covered at this year's Urbana conference in St. Louis, Missouri. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship justice evangelist York Moore will speak on human trafficking at Urbana 09.
Moore's interest in justice in the trafficking began about ten years ago at an Urbana conference while listening to a speaker. "One of the things that he said early in his message was that during that week, there were going to be trafficked more children into slavery than were seated in that auditorium; and that night I think there were something like 21,000 students in attendance," says Moore. "My heart broke. I call that night my 'second conversion.'"
Since this pivotal night in Moore's life, he has ardently joined the fight for justice in this overwhelming issue. Moore is still a full-time evangelist with InterVarsity, but it did not take him long to make an obvious connection between spreading the Gospel and speaking out for the oppressed.
"The practice of the Kingdom (seeking to provide clean drinking water for the poor, seeking to provide opportunities for the oppressed, seeking to provide the release of freedom for the slaves–that Clarian call of Luke chapter 4 that drove the ministry of Jesus) typically is divorced from the practice of saving souls," says Moore. He seeks to bind this divide in his ministry.
At Urbana 09, Moore will speak on the unity between evangelism and social justice, focusing especially on human trafficking. His passion for both issues is evident and will resonate with every attendant at Urbana 09. (To learn more about Moore's ministry, click here and watch him speak.)
Urbana 09 is an international missions conference for college students sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. This conference only takes place every 3 years and is for any student serious about his or her faith. Be sure to register soon because the price of the conference goes up after October 17. To register for Urbana 09 or to learn more about the speakers who will be there, visit the Urbana 09 website. To read other MNN articles explaining Urbana 09, click here.
"For the student who is interested in pursuing or investigating a career in the area of human trafficking or whether it be a variety of other social justice concerns, Urbana really is the place that you want to be."
